The Electric Can Opener Emotional Fluctuation
by gwendy
Summary: I just know there's a missing scene in there! I just know it! This is inspired from Episode 1 of Big Bang Theory's Season 3, on what happened after Penny gave Sheldon Star Trek Spoilers


**Title:** The Electric Can Opener Emotional Fluctuation

**Spoilers: **Season 3x01

**Rating: **PG

**Chapters:** 1/1

**Disclaimer:**

**Summary:** There's a missing scene in there. I just know there is!

**A/N:** I thought I'd take a stab at this :P Unbeta'd so forgive the errors. And to those who were expecting this to be an update of The Cooper Libido Experiment, I'm sorry, it's not. By the way, this isn't a very happy fic  ONE SHOT!

Penny watched as Sheldon continued to sob on his pillow after she had accidentally let slip some spoilers from the new Star Trek movie. Years ago, she would've thought his reactions eccentric, immature and downright crazy. But after years of living across the hall from him, adjusting to his quirks, habits and routines, she knew he was justified. Leonard, Raj and Howard had made a fool of the beautiful mind of Dr. Sheldon Cooper, leaving him to sulk like a child with a broken toy.

Of course Leonard's tampering with the experiments upset Sheldon. Heck, Penny imagined she was just as upset, especially since it completely changed the man she had pictured Leonard was. They'd done it out of desperation, sure, to stop themselves from killing Sheldon…but that didn't change how selfish and unprofessional their actions were.

No, she wasn't going to side with Leonard on this one.

With a deep breath, she set out to do what she had hesitated on earlier.

She reached out and put a hand on Sheldon's shoulder. He stopped sobbing under her touch, and silence thickened inside the room until she felt her breaths grow heavy.

It didn't occur to her until then, that Sheldon hadn't so much as protested to her coming inside his bedroom.

She shook away her thoughts and gave Sheldon's shoulder a gentle squeeze. "Sheldon, sweetie…is there anything I can do for you to make it all better?"

Sheldon was quiet for a while. Penny even thought he had fallen asleep, but he slowly lifted himself to a sitting position and faced her.

He looked…completely lost, and his eyes were glimmering with unshed tears.

"As a child, I used to be the recipient of jeers and battery from the neighbor kids because of my superior intellect. I would come home with bruises and my mom would hug me and tell me everything would be all right. In truth, her embraces would only make my injuries hurt even more, but I felt much better afterwards." Sheldon bit his lip, and said, "Penny…will you give me a hug?"

If his expression hadn't already broken her heart, his words…the way he said it, tore it to a million pieces. Without hesitation, Penny reached out and hugged Sheldon for the first time since Christmas, and she had to hold back her tears when he hugged her back. She wanted to say something comforting, but she couldn't think of anything except, "There, there."

Sheldon let out a strangled cry and buried his head deeper into the nook of Penny's neck, and in moments, he was sobbing again.

Penny didn't want to cry. She had always hated how it made her face blotchy and her eyes puffy, but that's what she ended up doing. She cried as she rocked Sheldon with her like a baby. Cried as she combed her fingers through the length of his unkempt hair. Cried as she began to plant kisses at the side of his head.

How could Leonard betray him like this? How could Raj and Howard? Had it really been that bad in the Arctic? Still, this…dashing Sheldon's dreams like this couldn't have been worth it.

"They shouldn't have done this to you," Penny muttered as she continued to press her lips to Sheldon's temples before slowly venturing towards his cheek. "I'm so sorry, sweetie. So, so sorry…"

He continued to sob, and her heart ached to hear it. She was still kissing his cheek when she felt his lips press at the side of her neck before slowly trailing up to her face.

She felt her nose bump against Sheldon's, and her eyes flew open to find his, still glistening under the lamplight like a piece of shattered glass.

It must've been that look he gave her. Or the closeness of their faces, because the next thing Penny knew, she was kissing Sheldon for all she was worth, and stealing mutters and breaths from his lips. She couldn't remember when his hand had reached up to cup the back of her head, or when arm had wound its way around her waist, pulling her closer until she felt she would burst from the feelings stirring in her chest.

And he was kissing her back. Sheldon Cooper, PhD was actually kissing her back, tentatively…desperately. She could feel the dampness of his tear-stained cheeks against hers, the bristles of his beard against her jaw as he angled his face unsurely, perhaps in search of the perfect way to fit her lips to his.

It was pitiful.

It was exhilarating.

It was the single most bittersweet moment of Penny's life.

She quickly pulled back. "Sheldon…we can't do this."

Sheldon blinked at her, and Penny could've sworn she saw a flicker of hurt in his eyes before his face took on its usual stoic expression.

Without a word, he let her go and returned to his fetal position. Her hand instinctively reached out to touch him again, but this time, she stopped herself. "Sheldon…I'm sorry."

"Whatever for? Other than your divulging relevant Star Trek plotlines, you have nothing to apologize for." She watched him bury the side of his head deeper against his pillow, and saw his knuckles turn white from clawing at it. "Now, please leave."

"Sheldon…"

"I'm fine now. Get out."

Penny bit her lip to stop a sob from escaping. With a whispered goodbye, she lifted herself from the bed and exited the room, closing the door as softly as possible before leaning heavily against it.

"Penny?"

Penny looked up and saw Leonard poke his bushy head from the living room. She hurriedly wiped her tears away and moved out of the bedroom hallway towards him. She tried to smile, but failed miserably.

She should've known Leonard would see through it. "Penny, are you alright? You look a little flushed."

She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out as reality hit her like a ton of bricks.

She had just made out with Sheldon. In his room. On his bed. If Leonard knew…

"I'm fine," she replied flatly as she walked past him and headed for her apartment. She didn't have to look back to know he'd followed her.

"Penny, now that…you know. Maybe we can…continue with our previous engagements?"

Penny opened the door to 4B but stopped Leonard from entering with a stern look. "Now's not a good time, Leonard."

"Is it because of Sheldon?"

Penny almost choked. "Yes. It's about Sheldon. Go there and apologize."

"But he's—"

Penny didn't think twice of slamming the door in Leonard's face before slowly making her way to her bedroom and dropping herself on the mattress.

She curled into a fetal position, much like Sheldon had been doing, and pressed the side of her head deeper into her pillow when she remembered the dejected look on Sheldon's face after she'd broken the kiss.

She couldn't let him—or anyone else—know that the only reason she'd pulled back was because she'd been terrified: terrified of the vivid images of white lace, bells, bouquets and veils; of sunrises and sunsets spent with hands entwined, while golden rings glistened under the bright sun; of blue-eyed, blond haired children, fussing at her feet as their father tried to explain the basics of string theory.

It was a long while before Penny managed to gather herself, and the first thing she did was to call her mom to ask for the pie recipe.

A/N: Yeah, it's a shipper's wishful thinking. And hey, it could answer why the L/P sex was B.A.D mwahaha! It's not happy, but I hope you still like this fic and the art that went with it

Just delete the spaces. The artwork can be found in http : // img28. imageshack. us / img28 / 4899 / ecoefwatermarked .jpg


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